


Slaughterhouse Rules

by Theonewhosawitall



Series: Rick's View [1]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Coda, F/M, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, Haunted Houses, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Attraction, Nicknames, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:00:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27063787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theonewhosawitall/pseuds/Theonewhosawitall
Summary: The full story of what Rick and Juliet got up to during the halloween specialSeason 2 Episode 5
Relationships: Juliet Higgins & Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright, Juliet Higgins/Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright
Series: Rick's View [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181300
Comments: 24
Kudos: 23





	Slaughterhouse Rules

"I can't believe that you managed to pack an overnight bag yet you forgot to change out of your costume."

"I didn’t forget okay, I worked very hard on this and I deserve the fun. D'you even know who I am?"

"Yeah, of course, you're Gumby."

"What? No!"

"Oh Peter Pan!"

"No! God, no, I- I'm Robin Hood! Errol Flynn! Doesn't anyone appreciate the classics anymore?!"

Juliet chuckled to herself as she watched him storm off. She had recognised the outfit instantly. Robin Hood had been one of her favourite movies, she must have seen it half a dozen times, which was a lot for her! But it was too hard to resist teasing him. Especially when Gumby had been playing on her mind. Thomas had been watching old videos of this strange green Claymation character, and it struck her that he seemed oddly fond of it.

It just reminded her of Morph. 

The parallels between Morph and Gumby seemed to only grow from there, and now she couldn't deny a strange homesickness for a lump of clay in a cupboard somewhere in Bristol. If he even was clay. Part of her thought he might be, but surely it was easier to use plasticine. 

Morph was still on her mind when Helen came to the door, so she had to throw it aside and force her best smile.

"Hello there, I'm Juliet Higgins from Higgins and Magnum PI services?" She said, politely. 

"Ah yes, Come on in," Helen nodded.

She shuffled backwards into the house to usher them inside. Rick took a step back to allow Juliet to pass through the doorway first. Just stepped over the threshold sent a shiver down her spine. It was cold in here. She put it down to the AC but there was nothing to suggest she even had one. Not that they could see much. The lighting in the room was limited to a dim circle around the lamps. A mild whiff of damp hung in the air as well.

Nothing out of the ordinary, but combined with the history of this particular house, it felt slightly eerie.

"What a lovely home..." Rick said, slowly.

Helen chuckled, "I don’t hear that often. people tell me I should move away, but I’ve had so many wonderful memories with my late husband here."

"We're so sorry to hear of his passing," Juliet said.

"That’s good of you. Well its been very quiet for a while. After that..." Helen trailed off with a wave of her hand.

They knew what she meant without her needing to say it. Rick bit his bottom lip to hold in his excitement. 

"You said you were hearing some noises?" Juliet inquired.

Helen nodded "Yes, two days ago is when I first heard... it..."

She swallowed as she spoke. Her eyes were wide as she glanced towards the walls. There was caution in her movements. Like she was afraid someone was listening. Or something...

"It?" Juliet repeated, ignoring the second shiver down her spine as she did.

"Well it sounded like a young child wailing," Helen explained. "I know the history of this house and so I suppose that it was-"

Juliet forced a smile to stop herself rolling her eyes and said, "Not to worry we'll get to the bottom of this and help you out."

"Thank you so much," Helen sighed in relief. She picked up her suitcase and said, "Well I'll see you in the morning."

"Bye bye," Juliet smiled.

"Good night," Rick smiled.

He held the door open for her as she shuffled out to her waiting taxi. He waved as she drove off. Once she was gone he spun on his heels and practically skipped back to Juliet. 

"Wow! Wow I have always wanted to be in a real haunted house!" He beamed.

"Okay, you know this place isn’t actually haunted right?" Juliet scoffed. 

"Well who’s to say if it is or it isn’t," Rick shrugged, still smiling.

"Me. It isn’t."

"Okay agree to disagree."

Rick wasn’t about to let a thing like cold hard logic and reasoning damped his excitement. This was all he'd been waiting for. Whether or not she believed didn’t matter, he was buzzing. 

"Its been my dream, always, to spend one night in a real haunted house - this is gonna be fun!" He grinned. 

Juliet rolled her eyes. Rick bewildered her sometimes.

Magnum she understood, he was a heroic, romantic fool who was full of self sacrifice for the good of his fellow man. A noble if foolish idealist. She could forgive his childish tendencies and his lack of business ability because he was working for the greater good.

TC she not only felt the most understanding with, but a deeper connection. He was the grown up out of the three of them. He had a business, one that thrived with him in control and utilised the skills he learned in the military. He was loving and caring and loyal to a fault. More than that, he was welcoming. He saw the good in people because it was what he wanted to see, and he was strong enough to take action if what he saw wasn't good. She admired that about him. It was what had lead to Viper's arrest after all.

But Rick?

Rick was a goofball. He wore tacky shirts and fake watches, spent most of his time socializing with strangers to build new connections just because he found people interesting, and danced to The Beach Boys while cleaning the bar. _His_ bar. The bar he had invested all of his money into buying, and stubbornly gone from bank to bank to get a loan for. Rick was level headed and determined and a good businessman. 

If Magnum was the childish one, and TC the grown up, Rick fluctuated between the two. 

She couldn't wrap her head around how he managed it, and it irritated her to try. Who else would turn up to a haunted house dressed as Robin Hood and still be as respectful to the owner as possible?

"Right, what's first?" Juliet said to herself.

"Checking the basement for Frankenstein's lair, obviously," Rick grinned. 

"Well I'm starving so you do that and I'll check the kitchen shall I?" She countered. 

His eyes widened. "The kitchen?" Rick took a step closer and lowered his voice as he warned, "I don’t want to worry you, but I’m pretty sure that's where the murders were committed."

"Why are you whispering? Its just you and me here," she stated, at normal volume.

"That we know of," he countered.

His eyes sparkled as he said it and made her roll her eyes all over again. He chuckled as she did. There was something so satisfying about winding her up like this. Maybe it was just because she was so tightly wound anyway it was just fun to see how much further she could go.

"I'm making tea, do you want any?" She asked, pointedly. 

Rick's face fell. "I thought you didn't like tea? I know because I brought a whole new bunch of fruit tea for you to drink and you said you didn't drink it and I realised that it was a complete waste of money."

"Yes well that can't be helped," she shrugged. She walked towards the kitchen and he followed her, frowning like he had been duped. "Anyway I don't mean tea then drink I mean tea as in dinner."

"You call dinner tea in England?" He snorted.

"Tea, dinner, supper, it has many colloquialisms. You still haven't answered my question," Juliet said.

She set her hand on her hip as she turned to face him. Rick pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and then shrugged.

"I could eat," he decided.

Rick leaned against the kitchen island as he muttered the Wi-Fi code to himself, reading it off of the broadband box. He didn't question why it was on top of the fridge. Juliet rolled her eyes and opened said fridge. Her eyes widened.

"Oh my God."

Rick's head snapped up eagerly, "What is it?! Please tell me its jars of formaldehyde filled with body parts!"

"Stop," Juliet warned. She reached into the fridge to lift the glass dome inside and read the note pinned to the top of it. "Help yourself to some to some chocolate haupia pie love Helen, isn't that nice?"

Rick hummed in agreement but his attention had been lost. Juliet tutted. Even free pie couldn't distract him from the haunting. 

"Wow get this! Watts killed the entire family in this room, in that very spot!" Rick pointed to where she stood, grinning as he did.

"Could you please contain your excitement you’re talking about actual murder victims," she scolded.

He continued, regardless, "When watts attacked the first victim he let them cry out in order to draw the rest of the family to him!"

"Did you hear a word I just said? You're as bad as Magnum!" She tutted.

That got to him. Rick's shoulders sagged and the arm holding up his phone drooped.

"Tommy's not that bad Higgy," he said. 

"Must you shorten every name?" She complained. 

He frowned, "Huh?"

Juliet rolled the knife in her hand as she listed, "Higgy, Tommy, TC, Gordy, _Rick_ \- I've heard you call Kamekona Kammy before-"

"You don’t like nicknames?" Rick interrupted, surprised. 

"Not overly. Not enough to turn one into my main name anyway," she said.

She smirked as she cut into the pie. The knife vanished through the layers of whipped cream and her mouth watered just at the idea of it.

"Well I wouldn’t either if my name was something nice like yours," Rick said.

"I see, so you'd rather be Juliet than Orville would you?" She teased. 

"Sure I would, but I'd go by Jules. That way people would just assume my name was Julian," he grinned.

She frowned as she licked the whipped cream off of her fingers, "Jules?"

Rick tilted his head and tried to ignore the overly familiar sensation in his stomach at the way she licked her fingers. He couldn't allow himself to like her like that. He had a feeling Thomas had a crush on her and after everything he'd been through with Hannah, Rick didn’t want to be the one to stand in his way.

Besides, she didn’t do things like date. She rarely even left Robin's Nest unless one of them was with her. She was reclusive. He was too social. Whenever she looked at him it felt like she was looking at a puzzle she had just to figure out. They would never work.

"Don't people call you Jules?" He asked.

"No. Well - Magnum does sometimes, but not often," she shrugged. 

"Julie then?" Rick asked.

"No, no one," she wrinkled her nose at the idea.

"What do they call you?" He asked. 

"Juliet. Or Higgins. Or, sometimes, Miss Juliet Higgins," she said 

"Or Higgy?" Rick grinned. 

Juliet gave a small smile and nodded. That was possibly the one nickname she approved of. "Yes, or Higgy."

Rick caught her smile and smiled back. She couldn't pretend not to approve of the nickname when it made her smile like that. 

"What did they used to call you?" He asked.

She gave him a quizzical look. "Who?"

"The people you knew when you were younger. People who cared about you, people who gave out nicknames. Y’know, family, friends, _lovers._ What did they call you?" Rick asked.

"Agent mostly."

"What did Richard call you?"

Juliet tensed. It was a subtle move. Unless you had been trained to recognise minute movements and understand their meanings you'd miss it. Rick had been trained to do so. It helped his skills as a sniper. Before he could react she had gained control of herself. 

"That really isn’t any of your business."

She said it calmly. Casually. It was a warning, but not the kind of warning she gave Thomas. Not the kind that ended conversations. Rick dare to press on.

"But he called you something?" He asked. She raised her gaze to meet his, and silently gave away the answer, "Maybe I can guess it. Vegetable, animal, mineral?"

"I’m not about to help you with your juvenile games Rick! Especially when we have an actual case to focus on!" She sniped. 

Rick opened his mouth to argue, but something stopped him. Something low. Distant. Haunting...

"Did you hear that?" He whispered. 

Juliet paused. She tilted her head to raise her ear and listen. There was no sound.

"No."

"Shh I swear I heard something..."

He had heard something. A spooky wailing sound like a long forgotten child trapped in the confines between worlds. It sent a shiver straight through him. He raised his head to look up at the ceiling. Whatever it had been, it was coming from up there...

A sudden jolt of alarm bolted through them both as the ringing phone cut through the air. Rick licked his lips. He took a deep breath and edged towards the old landline. His hand shook as he raised the receiver to his ear.

"Hello?" He just managed to keep the tremble out of his voice.

"You think you’re safe. But you’re not. I know where you are," a dark voice warned. 

The threat made Rick's hands clam up and his stomach felt like a solid block of ice. Then Thomas laughed his deeply familiar laugh and relief flooded through him. 

"Sorry man I couldn’t resist, its just me," Thomas grinned down the line.

"I knew it was you the whole time it was so obvious I didn’t get scared at all!" Rick lied. He turned to hand the phone to Juliet, "Its Thomas."

The colour had drained out of Rick's face and Juliet felt a burst of anger at how childishly Thomas treated his friends. She didn't even have any, and he treated his like he afford to lose them.

"So this is how you thank your friends for volunteering their time to help you, by scaring them half to death?" She huffed.

"I wasn’t scared, and if you’re referring to by buttocks being clenched that’s due to the tights," Rick argued.

"I was calling to check in," Thomas said.

"All good here. All snuggled in, if there's anything wrong with the house we'll find it," she said.

"Great thanks Higgy, good luck," Thomas said.

He hung up on her and she placed the receiver down again. She wasn't thrilled that Thomas had taken on another case and left her here with Rick. Especially one that probably wouldn’t end in payment. They hardly made enough money to support their business or themselves let alone Rick and TC who both had other jobs to focus on. It didn't feel fair and it didn't sit well with her. But she was all the more grateful for them every time they stepped up because of it.

"I wasn't scared," Rick reiterated.

"No, of course not," Juliet agreed, "Your buttocks were clenched for the tights."

Rick's eyes sparkled mischievously. "So you were looking at them?"

Juliet glanced up at him. She felt a chill throughout her chest. "What?"

A small smirk grew across his face as he slid closer to her, "I thought I could feel eyes watching me as I went, I thought it was the ghosts, but it must have been you right? You’re a little bit naughty aren't you Higgins?"

Juliet rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest to still her beating heart, "What are you talking about? I have much better things to do with my time than stare at your arse Rick, especially when you appear to be talking out of it."

Her protests only seemed to cement his suspicions, and it gave him a cocky look as it did.

"Yeah. You were looking," he grinned. 

"God it really is like being with Magnum, you’re both as ridiculous as each other!" She complained. 

Her chest felt tighter than she would like to admit. She hated it. She hated the idea of caring about anyone ever again. After losing Richard and her career and being betrayed by Viper and the death of Jack Candler and her mother's dementia stealing her away too, Juliet had just lost too many people. It was hard enough to trust this little ohana that just seemed to show up on her doorstep one day (or more accurately, climb over the gate of the estate she was working at one day) without falling in love with any of them too.

Yet it was hard.

Whenever she was fed up with Magnum she could easily walk away, and TC was far too easy going to be more than a big brother to her, but Rick? Every time she thought she understood him, every time she thought he was just here to make a bad pun or throw out a line to help them with a case, _every time_ he proved her wrong. He was caring, and genuinely interested in the people around him. It wasn't for show, he really did want to know why his friends were quieter than usual, and he was always the one who noticed. And yet he poured himself into his business to. With grit and determination to build on the shoulders of giants. It was tough and yet he preserved. 

She admired him for things she rarely saw in others. In ways she rarely felt. 

And that spooked her. Not some old supposed haunted house.

"What's uh... what's going on with you and Tommy anyway?" Rick asked curiously.

She tilted her head. "How'd you mean? We're partners."

"Just partners?" Rick asked, pointedly.

He wasn’t sure what he was hoping the answer would be. Even if she didn't like him back, Rick had known Thomas long enough to know when he had a crush. He couldn't risk getting in the way of his happiness, especially if Juliet liked him back.  
On the one hand he would have loved to know she liked him so he could be their cupid, as he always loved to be, but on the other, he was fully aware that it was gonna hurt if she admitted it.

But Juliet didn't. She simply asked, "What else would we be?"

He shrugged, casually edging around the sides of the bush they found themselves at, "Nothing I guess. I just thought... I don't know what I thought. Maybe I thought I saw something I didn’t. Doesn’t matter."

"Right."

"It's just..."

Juliet took in a deep breath and held onto her fake smile, "Yes Rick? Its just what?"

"You haven't been out with anyone since Christian Yelich - which you still wont tell any of us about - It just makes me wonder if you're doing okay," he explained, gently.

Just like that he had done it again. Just when she thought he was being annoying and superficial, he went and proved her wrong. He went and cared.  
God she hated him.

"I'm perfectly fine. Why wouldn't I be?" She stated. 

Rick opened his mouth to answer, but he had a habit of not answering a question so much as imply an answer. It kept the fallout off him when situations got sticky. 

"Shammy's got us going to these meetings for returning vets. I thought it was stupid, I figured I was doing good and didn't need to go, but I went to support my friend. Turns out there's a lot of little habits I have, things I do that other vets do too. Cause even though I'm home and I'm safe, that sense of danger is always there. The sense of loss."

Juliet was an expert at keeping her emotions inside. She had been literally trained to do so. Her composure didn't change even as she felt a punch to her heart. 

"I'm sorry I don’t seem to understand what this has to do with me?" She asked.

"Well I know you can't tell anyone about the super secret spy stuff-"

"It really isn’t all that interesting."

"But you met someone important doing it. And you lost them. And then you found out that the person who you thought you could trust the most killed him and betrayed you both. I know a thing or two about betrayal and it eats at you. I don't want you to think you have to suffer alone."

Rick's eyes were earnest. Those stupid bright blue eyes were shining with it. Even framed by that ridiculous wig and dressed in a lime green leotard he found a way to make her stomach drop. Still her outward composure did not change.

"Thank you but I'm not suffering," she smiled politely.

"You never talk about Richard," Rick countered.

"So? Katsumoto doesn't talk about his ex wife, Magnum doesn’t talk about Hannah, Kumu doesn't- well maybe Kumu does, but she’s the exception that proves the rule. Just because you lose someone doesn't mean you have to talk about them endlessly," she stated. 

"But it's okay to sometimes," Rick said.

"We're working Rick. I've let this ridiculous conversation go on for far longer than I should have, but it ends now. Is that understood?"

Her armour had a chink, and it was Richard. Rick realised this more than ever when he saw her snap. To anyone else it wasn't snapping, it was just being sharp, but Juliet having any kind of strong reaction meant something big. He hadn't known her long, but he knew her well enough to recognise when it was time to back down. He licked his lips and pressed them together. 

Just one last try...

"Don't take love off the table, that’s all I'm saying," he said, quietly.

She held her gaze on him like a robot warming up its laser vision, but that's how he knew it was getting through to her. He just wasn't sure how much. 

"Don't. This is not appropriate conversation for work. Eat your pie."

He blinked. With the inner conversation nagging at him to dig for intel he had completely forgotten about the slice of pie she had cut for him. She stormed past to take hers to the main room while he rooted around for a work. When he joined her, she had chosen to sit cross legged on the armchair. For whatever reason he decided to sit on the floor and lean back against the couch. She watched him do so, with mild curiosity. 

It seemed ridiculous. 

Richard had been dashing and charming and intelligent, if slightly closed off at times, but he was strong and loyal to those who were loyal to him. Those fine qualities and his ruthlessness made him an excellent spy. One she had been helpless to avoid falling for. 

Rick was handsome, sure, he could be smart when he wanted to be even though he never graduated high school, he was loyal to anyone who stuck around, but he was a goofball! He wore his heart on his sleeve no matter how often it hurt him. And he would let any old sob story get to him because of it.  
He couldn't be more different to the man she loved, and yet she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something she wasn't seeing here. 

Besides, Zeus and Apollo loved him and they were excellent judges of character. 

Rick's eyes widened as his mouth closed around his fork and he stared at her, amazed. "Wow?! This is excellent!"

"It really is," she agreed.

He grinned. He loved forging common interests. "Hey dyou think Helen would share the recipe? I'd love to put this on the menu at work."

"You'd have to ask her, I simply have no idea," Juliet shrugged.

She took another bite of her pie. Rick tried to he subtle as he watched her. His heart beat harder in hope that she might lick the fork again.

Then something whistled past his skin. Something invisible and lighter than air. It brushed against his arm, leaving a chill behind it. His heart beat harder for different reasons. Another distant yowl send ice through his veins. 

"Did you hear that?" He asked, nervously. 

Juliet licked her lips and gulped. She had heard that. Whatever that was she couldn't place her finger on. But it sounded so distant that she decided she was hearing things.

"The stairs creaked. They’re old, they're probably just settling," she said.

"Right... the house is just settling," Rick repeated, slowly.

He still glanced around the room nervously. His stomach was turning circles now. It was beginning to dawn on him that this was actually a slaughterhouse. People had been brutally attacked, and savagely murdered here. A family. Their children. 

Any unrestful souls still lingering here were not going to be the friendly kind.

Juliet watched the way he gulped and felt a tug of sympathy for him. He let his mind wander and that was on him. But she didn’t like to see anyone suffer. 

"Its an old building Rick, they creak. Trust me, I grew up in a converted factory and the walls creaked all the time," she assured him.

She reached out to lay her hand on top of his reassuringly. When her fingers brushed against his hand he almost dropped his plate. Juliet snatched her hand back sheepishly. She put it down to accidentally spooking him. She shouldn't have.  
Rick was careful to rebalance his pie on his plate as so not to lose it. He laser focused onto the pie. He had to. If he allowed his mind to linger on how soft her skin was, or how warm it felt against his icy flesh, or the way just a brush of her hand sent tingles through his whole body - 

"Wait - A factory?"

Rick's eyes flicked up onto her again. The words had taken moment to worm through but once they had, he latched onto the implication. 

"Yes," she said.

"A _Victorian_ factory?"

"Yes, from just before the industrial revolution. Then it actually became a gun makers workshop before being converted into flats."

"A _gun makers_?!"

"Why are you so surprised by that? Most buildings in London were factories or workhouses back then."

He didn't know much about England beyond what he saw on TV, and he knew what factory conditions were like in London and what they often lead to.

"You’re telling me that you grew up in a building where hundreds if not thousands of starving poor people worked themselves to the bone, got injured, and probably killed, and you weren't haunted?"

Juliet groaned as she rolled her eyes again. "London, like most major European cities, is built on top of a graveyard. People were killed in every corner of it. That doesn't mean they are haunted. If ghosts were real those cities would be impossible to navigate." 

Rick grinned, "Your childhood home was haunted."

"No, it wasn’t, it cant have been, because ghosts are not real," she argued.

"So you say, but Helen and I disagree," Rick declared. 

She groaned again. She unfolded her long legs from underneath her and stood up effortlessly. All that yoga that kept her fit kept her limber. Rick forced his mind not to run anywhere with that idea. She held out a hand. He gave her a quizzical look. If she was asking for his, he'd give it to her in a heart beat. There were a lot of beautiful women on this island but Juliet was a different calibre. If she wanted his hand, he'd be honoured. 

"Your plate."

She pronounced the T so clearly and pointedly that she may has well have called him an idiot and had done with it. He certainly felt one. He sheepishly handed her the plate. This time when she headed for the kitchen, he didn't follow.

He wanted to. 

But he didn’t. 

Not until she called, "Helen hasn't got a dishwasher."

"So?" He asked.

"So I have to wash up by hand," she complained.

"And?" Rick shrugged.

Juliet didn’t want to pout but by the way her legs shifted he knew she had the urge to. 

"Its just... inconvenient..."

It dawned on him that in all her time with the high class society she had grown up in, she may not have had to wash up by hand before. And spy work mostly meant late night take out or three course dining, neither of which required washing up. 

She didn't want to be prissy, but she had never done this before. He chuckled to himself.

"Step aside fair maiden, my merry men and I wash up by hand all the time!" He declared, dramatically. Then he smiled and winked at her. "I got this."

Juliet was only too happy to give up the washing up gloves to him. The flamingo pink really clashed with the green, but Rick had worn worse. He really liked aloha shirts. She leaned back against the kitchen island to watch him scower their plates in the soapy water. Once they were clean and neatly placed on the drying rack, he started on the other crockery that had been left to soak.

Juliet smiled to herself. That was typical Rick. He couldn’t just do half a job, he had to throw himself all in. 

But what if that was what he was like in relationships too? She kept herself with one foot out of the door at all times, she always had. It was in her nature to be slippery. To disappear if she needed to. That was what made her such a good spy. If he was all in and she was half out, they would collapse before they even begun and he would get hurt. 

She definitely didn't want to hurt him.

Besides TC and Magnum would take his side. They had to. She would except nothing less. But it would be awkward with Magnum and they worked together, they lived together, she couldn't afford to make things difficult with him. And she didn't want to lose TC. She was very fond of him. 

She had always secretly wanted a big brother. 

Juliet shook the thoughts from her head and focused on their case. "I think we should sleep together."

Once again Rick's hand slipped, only this time the plate plunged into the depths of foam topped water, throwing a large splash up as it went. He didn't even notice how soaked his shirt had become. It didn’t matter. Under his collar was so hot that it would evaporate soon. 

"Wow?" He croaked, alarmed, "That's... out of nowhere? I'm not saying no, but-"

Her heart skipped a beat as ahe realised what she had said and what he had heard. 

"Sleep in the same room together," she corrected, quickly. "Tonight. In the living room. That way we can confine mess and monitor the situation at the same time."

Rick's mouth opened and shut as he turned back to the sink. "Oh."

She expected him to be slightly embarrassed - she definitely was - or maybe even a little sheepish, but she wasn't expecting the hint of disappointment that came through his tone. It made her stomach flip. He moved on before she dared to question it.

"Sounds good. It's gonna be like one of those slumber parties you went to as a kid, hanging out in the living room until after midnight and swapping scary stories all night," he said.

"That sounds childish," she said. 

"It's good to be childish sometimes," he countered.

To highlight his point, he scooped up some bubbles from the sink and blew them from his fingertips in her direction. She stepped to the side to avoid them.

He chuckled. "It'll be fun."

She didn’t seem convinced. 

"Actually I never really went to any sleepovers."

He blinked at her in alarm, "You didn't?"

"No. I didn't have very many friends and we tended to hang out in the daytime and sleep at night," she explained calmly. 

"Then you are missing out! I tell you what, I'll throw a slumber party. No need to thank me," He declared.

She frowned, "What? Why?"

"So you can have the experience of a real slumber party!" He insisted. 

She scoffed. "I'm not a child anymore Rick, I can live without silly childhood experiences."

"It'll be fun! I'll invite Magnum and TC and Shammy and Kumu, maybe even Gordon!" He grinned eagerly at the idea of Detective Katsumoto in his pyjamas with a bowl of popcorn in his lap and his usual scowl on his face. "You get to sleep on air mattresses, right in front of the TV and eat popcorn and candy until you're sick and scare the pants off each other and prank whoever falls asleep first-"

"That sounds horrendous," she interrupted. "Why would you think I would want to be a part of that? Besides, your apartment is far too small to fit everyone in, it would be far better suited to the Robin's Nest where there's adequate space for everyone."

Rick's grin changed. He was still grinning, but he looked more smug than excited. "Ah, I get it. _You_ want to host the party."

She wrinkled her nose. Hosting was part of her job, but not part she was particularly fond of. "No, I -"

Rick shrugged, "That's alright by me, as long as you're happy."

Juliet's breath caught in her lungs. Rick said big things so simply. Such big things so casually. He tossed aside declarations of love as if they were casual things and he barely even noticed because he had so much to give. As a woman who couldn't bare to give away any unless she was certain it was reciprocated, she found it hard to breathe around him.

"I'll be happy if you help me set up the sleeping arrangements," she stated, sharply.

Rick snorted as he peeled off his gloves. "Sure thing, might I suggest we sleep in Robin's home cinema-"

"Sleeping arrangements _here,_ not at your hypothetical slumber party!" Juliet cried. 

"Right. That makes more sense."

Rick's little finger brushed against Juliet's as he handed her a sleeping bag to unravel. She hated the way that simple touch felt like electricity through her skin. Rick didn’t even seem to notice it. Why would he? It was hardly a brush.

Rick drowned out the lightning raging across his flesh by focusing on sleeping arrangements. The best way to defend themselves was to cover every angle so someone was always able to fight back if they got ambushed. 

"Now we can either sleep 180 back to back or take alternating naps," he announced.

She gave him a peculiar look. "Rick you’re not in a bunker in Afghanistan with TC and Magnum alright, were in an old lady’s house in Hawaii."

"An old lady’s _haunted_ house," he countered.

She gave him an unimpressed look. After all so far they had no indication that this place was haunted at all. They hadn’t even heard-

A wail rattled through the house. A small, desperate cry of a baby. One that sounded as if it were carried by the wind. It gripped Rick's core and the hair on the back of his wig stood to attention. 

Juliet blinked, trying to pretend that her heartrate hadn’t just doubled. "No no, it can't be."

The baby cried against. A mewling plea for attention or help or something. Whatever it was, it would never come. Rick latched onto her arm for protection as it sent a wave of panic through his gut. 

"Yep okay I heard that. Lets check it out shall we, its probably just the plumbing," Juliet said, rationally. 

"Yeah cause pluming sounds like a screaming child. Totally normal," Rick agreed. His voice shook.

Juliet took the lead. She didn't have much choice since Rick was clinging to the back of her shirt like a baby elephant on it's mother's tail. He felt safer with her in charge. No one would ever know that she was _terrified._

This creepy portrait gallery isn’t helping. The creaking stairs were bad enough, but with the low lights these oil paintings felt like spies. Their painted, unblinking eyes watched everything. They followed these strangers across the room. They had seen people come and go from this place and never be seen again. What would make these two any different?

The mewling gets louder. There’s long stretches of agonizing silence between them now, but each one sends a new bolt of fear through them both. 

"I think its coming from up here," Juliet whispered. 

The air was too heavy for anything louder. Rick's grip on her shirt was tighter than ever as he nodded. He gulped again, but his throat was dry.

Whatever it was, it seemed to be moving. 

One minute it was in the stairway, then a hall. Then - Oh God.

"I think its coming from behind that door," Rick whispered. 

Juliet's shoulders were tense. Most of her muscles were tense actually. The surge of adrenaline rushing through her told her to run. Run and run and don’t stop. But she couldn't. 

The reason why was just behind this door...

Juliet shoved Rick forward, "After you."

"Me? why me?" He squeaked.

"Because this is your haunted house fantasy," she stated. 

His chest ached. "Good point..."

He eyed the door tentatively. It was a plain, dark green door, nothing unusual. Nothing that suggested a supernatural being was hidden away behind it. Or worse. A very natural being. Like the Waianae killer waiting for his next slaughter victim for instance... 

"Its just a normal doorknob anyway right?" Rick said quietly. 

"Right," she nodded. 

He licked his lips. His feet were rooted to the floorboards. If he stepped forward and they creaked, whatever or whoever was in side would hear him coming. They would have time to prepare...

"Or is it? Its actually quiet ornate, is it copper, maybe brass kind of hard to tell. Looks like its been lacquered by a strange material-"

Juliet rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? Move!"

Her frustrations overpowered her fear, as they often had before. She grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. It swung wide as both of them instinctively leapt back...

Nothing.

Nothing but darkness came out of the room. Rick breathed a sigh of relief. He gave her a cocky smirk.

"See? That wasn’t so hard now was it?" He pushed past to reach into the room. Now that there was no unknown danger, he was perfectly comfortable to reach into the pitch black unknown. "Now sometimes you can just reach in and find a light from here-"  
His hand brushed against something that felt like a small foot. He yelped and leapt back like he had been electrocuted. Juliet latched onto him, instantly ready to defend them both if necessary. 

Nothing happened. 

"What, what was it?" She asked urgently.

His voice was tight as he hugged his arm to his chest, "Well if I had to guess I would say the corpse of a young child!"

She scowled. That couldn't be possible. He was ridiculous. "Rick!"

The scoff was enough to over rule her fear again. She reached for her phone to turn on the torch and shone it into the room. 

Instantly she wished she hadn’t.

Dozens of glass eyes stared at them. They reflected the light back. Cold. Lifeless. Endlessly staring. Each doll was neatly sat on a shelf, but one or two had fallen over each other. They still smiled their frozen, painted smiles.

They always had.

They always would.

And they never blinked...

"Oh," Rick squeaked again. 

Juliet swallowed as the dolls stared at her, like they could see straight through into her soul.

"How... charming..." she lied.

"I was gonna say the same thing," Rick lied.

The dust of the room danced around the light beam. A smell of damp gave a sense of rot somewhere in the room. Something was rotting away. Something hidden. Unchecked. Forgotten. 

The baby’s wail sounded more like a yowl. Both of them gasped at tensed like statues as it ripped through them. Rick wrapped his hand around her wrist. He could feel her pulse racing as her breathing shook. 

"That wasn't coming from in here," she whispered. 

"Mmm," he squeaked in agreement, "don’t worry Higgy... you got this..."

Juliet licked her dry lips anxiously. As much as she hated to say it, a little risk would speed this whole thing up and get them out of here faster.

"The best way to track it down is to split up-" she began.

"I call downstairs!" Rick cried.

He flew out of the room and raced towards the landing, and the stronger lights before Juliet could argue. She was left to search the higher floors alone.   
Rick took a moment to catch his breath at the top of the stairs, but caught something else instead. It sounded familiar. Close. Like some kind of rattling.   
Whatever it was seemed to be coming from inside the wall. Curiously he followed the sound along to a painting. The pipes behind it sounded like rattling. Behind that sounded like- 

Rick frowned.

If that was what it sounded like then it could easily echo off walls and sound like a screaming baby. Before he could think of how to break through though, his phone rang again. 

"Hello?"

Thomas was shouting before Rick could finish talking, he sounded frantic, "Rick he is at the house! The killer of Waianae is there!"

Fool him one, shame on you, but no one fooled Rick twice. 

Rick gave a fake gasp, "oh no! Maybe he’s hungry, we can post mate some poke."

"I’m not kidding!" Thomas shouted urgently.

"Oh no, I just realised, it might be too late for poke. We might have to get some acai or some froyo!" Rick sneered.

"No Rick-" Thomas began.

Rick chuckled, "Okay buddy I gotta go am I’m about to bust this case wide open!"

He hung up with another chuckle, and looked around the room. If he could find something to break down the wall to access the cavity, he could have a better idea about what they were looking for. It didn't take much force to break it. It was just plasterboard after all. It still left a layer of grime across the floor and over him. Rick pulled away some of the looser pieces and grabbed his phone to find a torch.

He laughed as a pair of eyes shone back at him from underneath a pipe. The cat attached to them mewled again.

"Higgy!" Rick called, "You gotta come check this out! Here kitty kitty kitty."

He reached in his hand and kissed his teeth to draw it over, but it didn't budge. Rick felt a shadow fall over him as someone blocked out his life.

"Higs, you'll never guess what-"

Rick's stomach dropped into his shoes as he turned to face the man in the doorway. Watts. The Waianae killer himself. He recognised him instantly from all the reading he had done tonight, and would have even if Thomas hadn't called. 

Watts was taller than Rick. His hair was wiry. There was blood dried across his cheek, some caught in his beard. With broad shoulders, thick muscular arms, strong legs, he could snap Rick like a twig. 

Worst of all, he had an axe.

"You are not Higgins," was all Rick could think to say.

It was all Rick needed to say. As soon as he spoke, Watts growled. He raised the axe high and made a swing for Rick. Rick yelped in alarm as he ducked out off the way. That was enough to grab Juliet's attention from upstairs. The following crash as the axe smashed through the wall made her race down towards the danger.

She wasn’t about to let Rick face it alone.

Rick held his own for about ten seconds. He punched Watts hard in the jaw, and Watts was unaffected. He lifted the axe to swing it, but Rick was too quick for him. With a jab to his arm socket, he dropped the axe and Rick tossed it aside. 

Watts snarled.

He didn't need a weapon. 

Juliet gasped as she spotted Rick dodging the man's strikes. Her heart raced. Whoever this was, they were a danger to Rick, and she wouldn't let them get away with it. 

She assessed the situation in microseconds. The best way to deal with this, she decided, was to get the drop on him.

Rick was tossed down to the ground across the room. He landed so hard there was a thud. The air was momentarily yanked out of him. Watts stooped for his axe.

Juliet leapt from the stairway directly onto him like a feral cat, tacking his shoulders to latch on and weigh him down. Watts staggered. His axe lay forgotten. Instead he threw her off with one arm and sent her crashing to the floor. 

Rick groaned as he saw her crash. A spark of fury lit in his gut. Watts was slow to assess the changing situation he had walked into, and Rick used it against him. He lunged for his unprotected stomach. 

Watts grunted at the impact, but not enough to be incapacitated. Each punch, every defensive kick, had no affect. Watts was stronger than they thought and he had one thing on his mind.

Destruction. 

He didn't care how easily the glass doors shattered when he threw Rick through them. He pinned Juliet against the wall with one hand on her throat. Rick had to smash a vase over his head to get him to drop her. Watts snarled, and latched onto Rick instead.   
His eyes were burning with fury. He pinned Rick down, and choked him. Rick's eyes bulged as he clawed at his hands to get away. The air couldn't get through. His lungs burned. Watt's eyes turned more determined as he clenched harder and Rick squeaked.

Just as he was about to black out, Watt's let go. His eyes glazed over. He staggered, and collapsed in a heap on the floor. Rick gasped for air as Juliet clung to the fire pick in her hand, panting, waiting for Watts to get back up.

She had no idea if she could survive a round two, but she wasn't about to let this murderer take away someone she loved. 

Rick stared up at her between gasps. Her shoulders were tense. Her knuckles were white against the iron pick. Bruises were already beginning to bud on her exposed flesh. Her eyes were wild with fear and fury.  
Then she looked at him. That fury melted into genuine concern. She fell to her knees beside him. Rick could barely hear her voice over the thundering of his breath. His lungs felt like they were filled with sand, and his head was spinning.

Juliet cupped his cheek gently. Her hand was soft against the course stubble of his cheek. It made his chest ache for a whole other reason.

Juliet turned his head so he would look up at her and she could check his eyes to see how bloodshot they had gone. Which meant Rick could see the whole of her face. As well as she had been trained to mask her feelings, sometimes it slipped. Rick could see how much she cared, and how worried she was.  
Just for a moment, his heart was utterly gone.

She had saved his life.

She had saved him.

Because some part of her loved him.

The urge to close the tantalisingly small gap between them was almost too much to resist. Especially when her fingers ran along his hairline like that. It was just the two of them. In a haunted house. Facing down a murderer. And they survived. They were alive, and they cared, and their mouths were already so, so close...

Thomas threw the door open so hard the lock flew out as it smashed against its hinges. Juliet's hand flew away from Rick as Thomas ran in. He took one look at the pair of them, and the surge of relief that crashed through him was so huge it took out his knees. He had to lean against the back of an armchair to stay upright. Juliet's attention turned to him, and Rick's shoulders slumped in disappointment. 

"Nice of you to join us," Juliet said, drily.

Before Thomas could say even one word, Katsumoto's sirens came blaring into view. The house was swamped with HPD in minutes. Just as suddenly as it all started, everything was under control again.

"Thomas you should have seen it was, it was like a pay per view!" Rick beamed. He had already recounted the story for the police statement, but this one was far more theatrical, "Death match at the slaughter house - Higgy and Rick vs the Waianae killer!"

He nudged him eagerly as Thomas grinned back. Thomas was deeply relieved that the two of them were safe now, but he couldn’t help the underlining guilt in his stomach. Jin's case had been a total waste of time. Thomas should have been here, with Juliet, making sure she was safe. Rick should never have been involved, let alone in danger. He risked his friends too much and he felt terrible. 

"I spoke to the head of mental health at Halawa. She said this was the orphanage he grew up in. He associated this and everyone inside with his misery so he was going to burn it down," Katsumoto explained. 

"That’s why he murdered that family 20 years ago and why he came back tonight," Juliet said. 

Katsumoto nodded. He turned to watch the car drive away, taking Watts with it. Watts would be out of public society for years to come now, if he ever returned at all. A deranged killer was gone for good. The people of Waianae could sleep soundly in their beds now, knowing that justice was served and they were safe.

"You did good tonight," he said, earnestly. 

Thomas's eyebrow arched, like a puppy cocking it's ears in excitement. "Was that a compliment?"

"Yeah," Katsumoto nodded. Thomas grinned. Until he added, "for Higgins and Rick."

Rick threw his head back and laughed, "Oh, burn!"

He reached across Thomas to hold a hand up to Juliet. She smiled back as she met his high five. Thomas rolled his eyes at the pair of them. And then Jin climbed out of the bushes and parted his long wig out of his face like a curtain.

"Look at that, Kasamoto walks away and Jinn appears," Thomas said.

"Can't help it I'm allergic to cops. Cops and shellfish," Jin said.

A quiet and overly familiar mewl sounded from behind them and grabbed Rick's attention. He recognised the tabby in the doorway instantly.

"Kitty!"

Juliet put two and two together the moment Rick lifted the cat into his arms and it purred.

"There’s your ghost Magnum!" She declared.

Thomas wrinkled his nose. After all the build up around the ghost haunting the slaughterhouse, and the killer returning on Halloween night, he couldn't help feeling disappointed that the ghost was, well, a cat.

"He likes you Rick," Jin cooed, "you gonna keep him?"

"I'm glad you asked because it is a _paw-_ ssibility," Rick grinned. 

Thomas and Juliet groaned, but she smiled too. She had a soft spot for puns. And goofy men who wore outrageous shirts and listened to The Beach Boys while cleaning their bar apparently. 

"I’m allergic to cats and terrible puns so I'll see you guys later," Thomas lied.

He wandered off to catch up with Katsumoto and left Juliet and Rick to wrap up their case. 

"Well now we've settled this, shall I drive you home?" She offered. 

He frowned, "What? We're not done, we haven’t proved this place is haunted."

She frowned back, "What? Yes we did, you’re holding the cat that proves it!"

Rick shrugged, "So we've proved that the noises aren't ghosts, that doesn't mean that there aren't ghosts in there too. This is the spot if a major crime, they could be there."

He bounced his eyebrows suggestively at the idea, which made Jin chuckle. Juliet folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight to one leg. 

"You want to sleep on the floor of an old lady’s house to prove that even if there are ghosts they have no affect on the physical world?" She challenged.

His face fell slightly, but his resolve didn’t change.

"When you put it like that it sounds stupid."

"Sounds?" She snorted.

"Look, if you’re too scared to stay you don’t have to. This is my dream, I can sleep alone," Rick said, seriously.

The challenge made Juliet straighten her posture and Rick hid a smirk behind the cat's head as he kissed his ear. He knew he had her now.

"And leave you unsupervised, no chance!" She scoffed, "Besides, the least we can do is tidy up the mess we made. I think some things got broken in the fight."

"Oh definitely. But, y’know, I'm sure there's some superglue around somewhere, we can fix that right up," Rick grinned.

She nodded. "Perfect."

She held out a hand for him to shake. He adjusted his hold on the cat to do so. Thomas hopped back over, chuckling at the way Katsumoto was scowling at him. Whatever he had said, he had got the exact reaction he expected. 

"Need a ride home Higgy?" Thomas grinned. 

"Actually we're staying," she declared. 

His eyebrows crinkled, but he gave a laugh in surprise. "You’re what?"

"Rick here thinks he has something to prove and I'm not going to let him make another mess before Helen gets home and blame it on us," She explained. 

"About that, I had to break down a wall before everything went down, and then I got thrown through a window. Do you think Helen will notice the damage?" Rick asked. 

Juliet rolled her eyes and held in a laugh, "He’s a liability to the company!"

"And here I thought I was an assist since I do half the work," Rick grinned. 

"Yeah Higgy, is this how you thank your friends for volunteer their spare time to help you? By belittling them?" Thomas teased.

She couldn’t hold back the smirk as she realised he had gotten her. There was no arguing that.

"Alright, you've made your point," she said 

"Well if you're staying I might as well stay too. We are partners after all," Thomas said.

Rick and Juliet both looked surprised, and glanced at each other. Neither particularly wanted to share the others attention for the rest of the night, but they didn’t have time to think up a response. Jin beamed and threw his arms around their shoulders, as if he were tall enough to do so.

"Alright, slumber party!" He cried.

"Not you Jin," Juliet said, firmly.

She couldn't reasonably escape Thomas, but there was no way she'd share sleeping quarters with Jin.

His face was painted with dismay, "What?! This is discrimination!" Then he paused, and grinned, "Or is it because you wouldn't be able to sleep if I was in the bed beside you?"

Rick and Thomas shared a knowing look. They had to hand it to the guy, his determination was admirable. Foolish, but admirable. Juliet was unphased.

"I wouldn't. None of us would. You snore," she said, plainly. 

"I do not!" Jin cried defensively. 

"Actually buddy, yeah, you do," Thomas said, patting his shoulder in commiseration.

"When you were staying at Tom's I thought Robin had brought him a new dirt bike, but it turns out you were just having a nap," Rick agreed.

Jin's shoulders sagged. "Now I'm really hurt. But I'll stay anyway. My place is really empty since my model ex girlfriend and I mutually broke up and mutually agreed that she should move in with her totally platonic male swimsuit model friend."

"We're staying here. In the slaughter house," Juliet said.

His eyes widened in alarm, "the slaughter house, are you insane?!"

"If you don't want to stay you don’t have to. The sooner write up our witness statements with Katsumoto-" Thomas began.

Jin wrinkled his nose and interrupted, "The slaughter house is fine."

Thomas chuckled and patted his back as he ushered Jin into the house. The two of them still had to set up sleeping areas of their own. Rick set the cat down on the ground and gave him one last scratch behind the ear. The cat instantly began cleaning his ears. Juliet chuckled.

"I'm sure its nothing personal," she teased. 

He wanted to look put out, but he couldn't help smirking at her. She smiled back. She was so pretty when she smiled. Rick bowed and held out a hand, like he thought Robin Hood would.

"After you Miss Higgins," he said.

"Thank you Rick," she smiled back.

Sleeping was easy after the drama of the night, even with the gaping hole where the glass doors had once been. Explaining just _why_ there was no longer a door there to Helen was a bit harder. They didn’t have time to change before they had to leave to meet Kumu and TC. When they stepped out of the car, still dressed in last night's costumes, Kumu smiled.

"That must have been some Halloween!" She teased.

"You have no idea," Juliet said. She paused to take in the wine, glasses, plates and empty camp stove that had been brought up for the nights entertainment.

"Wow, TC you’re such a boy scout!"

"Only the best for the best," TC laid an arm around Kumu and smiled.

By the way she smiled back, it was clear that the two of them had really bonded during the night. She ignored the instinct to glance towards Rick. 

"You get your man?" Kumu asked Thomas.

His expression clearly said that's a long story. Confirmed by, "Long story, we didn’t get our fish but we did get a bigger one."

"Now I'm out 50 grand," Jin complained. 

"That money wasn’t yours in the First place," Thomas countered.

"What about you two, you just sit around this nice toasty fire and talk about your feelings all nice?" Rick teased.

"That’s an even longer story," Kumu said, seriously.

Before they could ask, the priest came wandering over to join them. There was a smile in his voice as he called out.

"Aloha kakahiaka, are you all ready? Let's begin the blessing of the heiau. Join hands please."

A semi-circle curled around the heiau and they each took the hands of the people beside them. Juliet's slipped into Rick's. His heartbeat rose as he glanced over at her. She gave him a slightly sheepish smile. He smiled back, and squeezed her hand a little.  
It was far too easy to feel so close.

"Look at this structure. On their own these rocks are oddly shaped. But together they are strong. When they come together they find purpose. These rocks represent us."

The priest continued the blessing, and they took a moment of silence to honour the spirits moving on around them. Once it was over, they broke up into groups to talk. Juliet and Rick were the last to let go of each other's hands.

She took a deep breath to steele herself before saying, "Cap."

Rick glanced over at her. He looked a little puzzled, and waited for an explanation. She looked a little embarrassed when she glanced over to check he had heard, and looked away again. 

"Richard... Richard called me Cap," she explained. "It was short for Capulet."

As it dawned on Rick, his mouth curved into a grin, "Juliet Capulet! Its so obvious, why didn’t I think of that?! And he was _Romeo,_ oh that’s so precious."

He chuckled as he swooned. Juliet felt her cheeks flush but she smiled anyway. Rick was cute when he was goofy.

"He didn’t call me it a lot. It was a joke between us. Whenever I was being bossy he'd call me cap. He said I was Captain material," she gave a half hearted chuckle.

Rick nudged her playfully. "He was right."

She smiled and her blush deepened. She cleared her throat, "Y’know i actually rather enjoyed working with you. Maybe we should try it more often."

"Sure. As long as we get to have that slumber party you promised at Robin's nest," Rick teased. 

Before she could refuse - and she desperately wanted to refuse - Thomas popped up beside them.

"What slumber party at Robin's Nest?" He asked. 

"There's gonna be a slumber party?" TC asked eagerly.

"I'll make punch," Kumu grinned.

The three of them all crowded her and eagerly began to plan their hypothetical slumber party. The only thing they still needed was her permission. She sighed heavily as all eyes fell on her.

"There's no way out of this is there?" She asked.

"No chance," Rick smiled. 

The others agreed as they carried on their planning.

"This is your fault, Jules," she muttered to Rick. 

He smiled back, and wrapped his little finger around hers. 

"If anyone can wriggle out of this, it's you, _Cap."_


End file.
